Category: Vermont

2010-2011 Season, March, Powder Day, Smugglers Notch

Smuggs <3

I am so up on Smuggs. I can’t even say the name without smiling and feeling better. Smuggs is one of only three or four ski areas that I connect with on an emotional level. Perhaps the honeymoon is not over yet. But I don’t think that is the case. Despite only having skied Smuggs four times, the connection already runs deep. It’s a special place.

The expansive tree skiing grabs me like no where else. The types of trees, spacing varieties, topography, and vertical all combine to offer an immensely pleasing experience. Much like other Northern Vermont areas, Smuggs tree skiing is a choose your own adventure and the best adventures are often off map. But by thinking outside the pack, there are so many seemingly obvious shots that remain untracked days after a storm.

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2010-2011 Season, March, Okemo

Okemo Shit Show

Rolling Thunder

Oh, the places The List has taken me. I will not likely return to any of them. But Okemo is reserved a special honor–a mountain you couldn’t pay me to revisit. A mountain I would even gladly pay to avoid. It is like my childhood feeder hill–Ski Bradford–with ten times the vertical and acreage and five high speed quads. That is Okemo. A royal shit show.

Okemo offers a massive and enjoyable visual on the approach from the east. But any pleasant thoughts regarding the view are quickly displaced by the offending traffic of Ludlow–a municipality that appears particularly devoted to being a ski resort town. The only thing I found enjoyable about Ludlow were slices at the aptly named Wicked Good Pizza.

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2010-2011 Season, Bromley, March

Bromley: The Corn Mountain

Blue Ribbon Quad

Sledhauler on Havoc

En route to Bromley, I experienced disconcerting feelings driving past Magic Mountain. The feelings were irrelevant since Magic wouldn’t have the sunny exposure needed for great corn snow and was closed regardless. But it still felt odd to drive past southern Vermont’s finest to frolic instead at the Sun Mountain. Bromley was the safe bet on guaranteed perfect corn conditions and it delivered with aplomb… and I have no disconcerting feelings about that.

I had not skied Bromley in more than eleven years. Perspective is an interesting thing. Back then I considered Bromley’s Blue Ribbon Quad area as “full of tough diamond runs” that are “nothing to laugh about”. The trails that schooled me then seem mellow now. I have had such an amazing journey in less than a dozen years. And to think that journey is only getting started…

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2010-2011 Season, Burke, March

Burke

Springing forward always sucks. I was kidding myself last night when I set a predawn alarm. Not just because of the lost hour but also for thinking that first chair was a worth while pursuit. The radar was buzzing with snow in Northern Vermont. And I figured maybe it would amount to something worth the extra effort.

While the new snowfall did not amount to much and warmer temperatures made said snowfall a moot point, the skiing today was surprisingly decent. The snow was granular and grabby but not frozen nor hard pack. Despite recent rains, the snow pack was stable and deep showing no signs of loss. This is as good as can be hoped for following a rain event.

Due to the grabby nature of the snow, I stayed out of the woods. Bumps on Doug’s Drop suggested that despite natural trails being skiable, the groomers might be better. So I did some laps on Big Dipper, Bear Den, and Willoughby before calling it a day just as the Ride & Ski NEK Style crowd showed up. Truly admirable that Burke provides a cheap halfday ticket for the locals.

2010-2011 Season, Jay Peak, March, Powder Day

Surfing the Wind Buffed Pow at Jay

Tram

In the past week, I have surpassed my 2009-2010 total days at Jay Peak. Three out of four days this past week were Powder Days. I know the answer already but I can’t help but ask myself “what was I thinking last year?”

Jay racked up an impressive two day total of 42″. And that is not a typo, those numbers are in the correct order. Today certainly didn’t ski like a “day after the wind hold powder day”. Winds laid down an extremely compacted wind buff. The powder was soft and surfy; decidedly not blower nor deep. Though softer shots on certain limited aspects allowed for some boot deep silky turns.

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